Marijuana Possession and Paper Work

CheebaMonkey · 06-22-2003, 06:19 AM

Quote:

"Julie" ( not her real name ) has been working the streets for the past two years in a northern part of the city. ( She didn't want us to print which part "because there are so few women in the district," she says. ) She says the decision whether or not to charge someone with simple possession isn't up to police policy, but rather individual officer discretion. And you'd be surprised to know that many police officers - including Julie herself - want to see the drug not only decriminalized, but made legal altogether.

Why? Often it's a matter of time, since an arrest means as much as two hours of paperwork for the officers - "Two hours where we're not on the job," Julie says.

So I have a question for the LEO's.

How long would you say it takes you to do the paperwork for a marijuana possession crime?

Thanks.

Exo-Lithium · 06-22-2003, 06:26 AM

What if Cops started attending public rally's and stuff? Ahahah sweet!

hauptmann · 06-22-2003, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by StaticMeteora
What if Cops started attending public rally's and stuff? Ahahah sweet!

They do. On the other side of the riot gear.

Niteshift · 06-22-2003, 07:11 PM

"Julie" must be in the S-L-O-W program.

It takes me less than 30 mins total, including affidavit, evidence form, submission of evidence, running copies and getting everything signed.

On a good day, I can do it in 15-20 mins.

Now what DOES take a long time is DUI's. I am faster than most on them and it still takes me about 2 1/2 hours. The avg. in my dept. is about 4 hours.

So if time consumption is the issue, I guess we'd be better of legalizing DUI. Anyone in favor of that?

CheebaMonkey · 06-22-2003, 07:40 PM

Well, if you wanted to solely consider time consumption, and if there are as many arrests for DUI's as there are for marijuana possession, then it would save more money. Actually, there wouldn't need to be as many DUI crimes as marijuana possession crimes to save more money.

But I really doubt that the public is gonna like people not driving sober.

Comparing marijuana possession and DUI's is like comparing apples and oranges. Someone driving not sober is putting other innocent people at risk.

Some who is smoking pot (or drinking beer, or smoking cigarettes) at their home is not putting anyone else at risk.

Why exactly did you mention DUIs?

Yeah, is the DUI the one that involves alcohol, or is that DWI? I always get those two mixed up.

---

Anyway, I'll use the value of 25 minutes. There were over 734,000 people arrested for marijuana in 2000. 88% were for possession. So that's about 645,920 possession crimes.

645920 x 25 minutes = 16,148,000 minutes.

16,148,000 is about 269,133 hours.

There are 365 days in a year (I'm gonna exclude leap year). 24 hours in a day.

365 x 24 = 8,760 hours.

269113 / 8760 = slightly over 30 years.

So to sum up, the US police force spent the equivalent of 30 years of time doing the paperwork just for marijuana possession in the year 2000.

That sure is a lot of lost time and money.

Exo-Lithium · 06-22-2003, 07:47 PM

Wow, thats just.. over doing it.

Niteshift · 06-22-2003, 07:53 PM

Comparing marijuana possession and DUI's is like comparing apples and oranges. Someone driving not sober is putting other innocent people at risk.

I'm not comparing the two. I'm simply illustrating how this idea of "saving me time" is pretty bogus too.

So to sum up, the US police force spent the equivalent of 30 years of time doing the paperwork just for marijuana possession in the year 2000.

Nice set of calculations, but you forgot an important one............

There were approx. 740,000 LEO's in the US in the year 2000.

So your impressive sounding 16,148,000 minutes actually works out to an average of 21.8 minutes per officer per year.

Presuming the officer works 50 weeks per year (2 weeks vacation), that is a whopping .43 minutes per WEEK per officer that will be freed up.

What will I do with all that time? I spend more time deciding if I'll have the house blend or the French Roast.

Bottom line to me: Make your case for legalization or decriminalization based on the issue. Don't try to use me and my "valuable time" as a crutch.

CheebaMonkey · 06-22-2003, 07:57 PM

No, no, no, no, no. That's not what I'm trying to do. I've read your posts here about how you don't spend much time on marijuana. I agree with that. What I'm simply pointing out is how much time is entirely spend spent on the paperwork for possession. Time is money.

CheebaMonkey · 06-22-2003, 08:23 PM

For example, from NORML

Quote:

Taxpayers annually spend between $7.5 billion and $10 billion arresting and prosecuting individuals for marijuana violations. Almost 90 percent of these arrests are for marijuana possession only.
REFERENCE: NORML. 1997. Still Crazy After All These Years: Marijuana Prohibition 1937-1997: A report prepared by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) on the occasion of the Sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Washington, DC; Federal Bureau of Investigation's combined Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States (1990-2000): Table: Arrest for Drug Abuse Violations. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington, DC.

EDIT

269133 x how much a cop gets paid per hour = craploads of lost $$$.

Ya might even have to throw in overtime pay sometimes because some cops voluntarily choose to work overtime. I was talking to a cop a long time ago, and he worked quite a bit of overtime.

Niteshift · 06-22-2003, 09:50 PM

269133 x how much a cop gets paid per hour = craploads of lost $$$.

Again, don't use me to "justify".

If you want to figure it out, take into account that the prosecution expense, which are included in that number. Prosecuters (attorneys) get paid a lot more than we do. So do judges. Their office assistants make as much in most cases.

Let's look at those "huge" numbers though:

You said 90% are for possession.

Possession arrests and prosecutions cost FAR less than an arrest and prosecution for cultivation or sale. So decriminalizing mere possession wouldn't equal a 90% reduction in the cost.

Likewise, you're not adding back into the number fines paid and property seized. If you're going to analyze this like a business, you have to treat it all like a business and add them back in.

Again, I hear you saying that you're not using my time to justify legalization, or the money spent. But it sure looks that way every time I see the post.

You also have to

06-22-2003, 07:11 PM	#4
Niteshift L.E.O. in Good Standing Join Date: Dec 2000 Posts: 6,432 Grams: 5,323.17 Thanks: 0 Thanked 12 Times in 6 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	"Julie" must be in the S-L-O-W program. It takes me less than 30 mins total, including affidavit, evidence form, submission of evidence, running copies and getting everything signed. On a good day, I can do it in 15-20 mins. Now what DOES take a long time is DUI's. I am faster than most on them and it still takes me about 2 1/2 hours. The avg. in my dept. is about 4 hours. So if time consumption is the issue, I guess we'd be better of legalizing DUI. Anyone in favor of that? __________________ A burning desire for social justice is never a substitute for knowing what you're talking about. -Thomas Sowell Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is muzzle flash.

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